Gradiente won the trademark but didn't make use of it until late 2012.

Apple is fighting back against its Brazilian trademark loss over the "iphone" name. The company filed an appeal following Wednesday's decision by Brazil's copyright office, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), which awarded the "iphone" trademark to a company named Gradiente Eletronica SA. As noted by Reuters, Gradiente now has 60 days to prove that it has been using the trademark; otherwise it may be handed back to Apple.

Gradiente is an electronics maker that filed for the iPhone trademark in Brazil in 2000 but did not use it for years. The company's trademark application was approved in 2008, a year after Apple launched its iPhone—Gradiente restructured and formed IGB Electronica SA, which eventually launched its own line of "iPhones" in December of 2012.

INPI handed Gradiente a win in the trademark dispute earlier this week, undoubtedly due to its early filing on the iPhone trademark. But Apple wants it back and has challenged the decision. Now, Gradiente has to prove that it actually did make use of the trademark between 2008 and 2013 or it risks losing "iphone" back to Apple.